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Investment funds
How we can help
HW Funds is Australia’s leading investment funds advisory team.
Independently ranked as industry leaders (Chambers Asia Pacific), our collective deep industry knowledge and vast industry experience mean we partner with clients at every stage of their journey to optimise wealth and create value.
With one of the largest specialist investment funds teams in the country, our pragmatic advice spans each stage of the fund life cycle – from licensing, structuring and establishment to litigation and exit strategies.
To help you understand the industry framework, key developments, and regulatory issues we have put together a range of practical and informative guides and resources that capture our thinking.
‘They are pragmatic, commercial and responsive.’
Chambers Asia Pacific Guide 2024
What we do
With our multidisciplinary expertise, HW Funds offers an integrated view of the broader marketplace, its challenges, risks and opportunities, including any implications for your business. Our services span:
- financial services regulation, including AFS licensing
- structuring and establishment
- offer documents
- finance
- transactions and acquisitions
- taxation
- litigation
- exit strategies.
We establish both retail and wholesale investment funds across a wide variety of industries, asset classes and jurisdictions, including:
- hedge funds
- private debt
- listed funds
- venture capital
- private equity
- significant investor visa
- renewables
- other alternative assets
Our leading property funds specialists handle some of the largest and most complex property fund transactions in the market as well as assisting with ongoing regulatory and management issues. We are recognised as one of the leading firms servicing the unlisted property funds sector in Australia.
We also have experience in establishing less common wholesale managed investment vehicles, such as platforms (IDPS), hedge funds with overseas feeder structures, and capital guaranteed products.
We play an active role in thought leadership, significant regulatory initiatives and key industry bodies, such as the Property Funds Association, Property Council of Australia and the Financial Services Council.
Resources for our investment funds clients
We have a range of innovative resources providing insights into key issues and challenges facing the investment funds industry today, including:
- Navigating AML/CTF a podcast series where our experts analyse the latest developments in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing;
- CCIV Guide which outlines the framework for the new corporate collective investment vehicle and how it may benefit your business;
- Fundamental a quarterly publication where we share our latest thinking on key industry developments; and
- Financial Services in Focus our monthly e-news with up-to-date regulatory news for the financial services industry.
We also offer a suite of essential tools to help you better understand the investment funds industry framework and key industry challenges and issues.
Who we help
We advise responsible entities, trustees and promoters of managed funds throughout Australia, as well as investment managers, platform operators, brokers and distributors, custodians, administrators, advisers and other stakeholders in the financial services sector.
Our investment funds industry experience
We are industry pioneers, having registered the first managed investment scheme in Australia, obtaining the first AFS licence authorising a person to operate a corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV), and acting on the first public offer for investment in a CCIV. We have also acted on hundreds of public offers.
- Advising AL Capital Holdings, the independent investment arm of Aqualand Group, in establishing a wholesale property syndicate to assist Aqualand with its independent investment in a $600 million funding package for the construction of AURA by Aqualand, a $1 billion mixed-use development set to be the focal point of the North Sydney rejuvenation.
- Advising Capital Property Funds on the restructure of the 601 Coronation Drive Fund, a closed-end single asset fund into an open-ended diversified property fund to enable the responsible entity One Managed Investment Funds, and investment manager Capital Property Funds, to utilise an existing investment structure whilst innovating and adapting to the property market changes to benefit investors.
- Advising Qualitas on the establishment, capital raising and JV arrangements for various direct property and debt funds, including built-to-rent property funds.
- Advising Arena REIT (which owns, manages and develops social infrastructure properties across Australia) on equity raisings, acquisitions and other transactions.
- Acting for Newmark Capital on all aspects of the establishment of and fundraising for all of its retail and wholesale funds, including Newmark Bourke Street Mall Trust, Newmark Hardware Trust, Newmark Tooronga Property Trust, Newmark Brandon Park Core Plus Fund, Newmark Como Property Trust and Newmark Jam Factory Property Trust.
- Advising Storeinvest, part of the StoreLocal Group, Australia’s largest unlisted self- storage investment group, on its partnership with leading global private markets firm Partners Group (listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange) which invested $100 million into a fund launched by StoreInvest to fund acquisitions, new development, and expansion of existing facilities.
- Advising on the launch and ASX listing of the $300 million Gryphon Capital Income Trust, the first listed fund investing exclusively in Australian residential mortgage backed securities and asset backed securities.
- Advising Centuria Group on structuring the $100 million Centuria Agriculture Fund, a stapled unlisted open retail scheme seeded with a $177 million glasshouse facility initially purchased in a joint venture with Flavorite.
Key contacts
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